Steamboy

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Steamboy
スチームボーイ (Suchīmubōi)
Genre	Adventure, Drama, Historical, Science Fiction, Steampunk
Movie
Directed by	Katsuhiro Otomo
Studio	Sunrise
Released	17 July 2004
Runtime	126 min

Steamboy (スチームボーイ, Suchīmubōi^?) is a Japanese anime film, produced by Sunrise, and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, his second major anime release, following Akira. The film premiered across Japan on July 17, 2004. It was the 2004 recipient of Best Animated Feature Film at the Catalonian International Film Festival. ^[1] With an initial production cost of $26,000,000, Steamboy is the most expensive full length Japanese anime movie made to date. ^[2]

Contents 1 Setting and genre 2 Characters 3 Plot summary 4 Anachronisms 5 Staff 6 Media 6.1 Video game 6.2 TV 7 References in pop culture 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Setting and genre

In keeping with the steampunk subgenre of science fiction, the movie employs alternative history: it is set in a 19th-century context, yet it features several geopolitical and industrial circumstances that developed differently or at a different pace, sometimes as a result of advanced technological paradigms that were accomplished via the science already present in the 19th century.

As evidenced by one of the early production sketches, Steamboy was envisioned as an amalgam between a Scientific Romance (à la Frank Reade and Tom Swift); a swashbuckling Douglas Fairbanks cliffhanger (similar to The Rocketeer); and a Republic Pictures serial (similar to The Wild Wild West and Indiana Jones), in contrast to an earlier retro-futuristic dystopia anime, Osamu Tezuka's Fritz Lang-inspired Metropolis (2001).

[edit] Characters

James Ray Steam (ジェームス・レイ・スチム, Jēmusu Rei Suchimu)^?, (Voiced by: Anne Suzuki (Japanese), Anna Paquin (English))

The main character, a 13 year old boy living in Manchester, is an inventor following the paths of his father and grandfather. He possesses a mechanical talent that was inherited from his family, and demonstrates this in at least two instances by building a steam-powered riding wheel and a steam-propelled flying device. He has a youthful idealism and sincerely dislikes the employment of technology for harmful purposes. During the film his motivations are alternately swayed by the influences of his father and grandfather.

Scarlett O'Hara-St. Jones (スカーレット・オハラ・セントジョーンズ, Sukāretto Ohara Sentojōnzu)^?, (Voiced by: Manami Konishi (Japanese), Kari Wahlgren (English))

Selfish, misguided, annoyingly spoiled yet whimsical and not completely heartless; she is the 14-year-old granddaughter of the chairman of the O'Hara Foundation. She matures as a result of her encounter with Ray. Her character is based upon the fictional character of the same name, from the classic novel Gone with the Wind.

James Lloyd Steam (ジェームス・ロイド・スチム, Jēmusu Roido Suchimu)^?, (Voiced by: Katsuo Nakamura (Japanese), Patrick Stewart (English))

Ray's idealistic grandfather. The original conceiver of the Steamball, which he succeeds in developing with his son Edward. A difference of opinions with his son Edward leads to friction between them. While Edward believes that science is an instrument of power, Lloyd simply wishes to use it to help people. They both develop distinctly different visions for their ultimate invention, the Steam Castle. It is later revealed that Lloyd intended the Steam Castle to be a sort of flying amusement park, but Eddy scoffed at such a premise, denouncing it as a "fairy tale vision." Edward instead built the Steam Castle as a flying military fortress.

James Edward Steam (Eddy) (ジェームス・エドワード・スチム（エディ）, Jēmusu Edowādo Suchimu (Edi))^?, (Voiced by: Masane Tsukayama (Japanese), Alfred Molina (English))

Ray's father. The accident that occurred in the development of the Steamball left Edward in a state where he needed to have machinery replace some of his body, including his right arm and parts of his legs. It left him not only physically disfigured, but it severely twisted his morals as well, driving him to believe that science is an expression of mankind's ultimate power. Edward's father calls him Eddy. He uses the Foundation and the Exhibition as a springboard to launch his ultimate invention: a monstrous, flying war machine called the Steam Castle.

Robert Stephenson (ロバート・スチーブンスン, Robāto Suchībunsun)^?, (Voiced by: Kiyoshi Kodama (Japanese), Oliver Cotton (English))

Edward and James Lloyd Steam's friend and rival, a major player in the Industrial Revolution. He claims that he wishes to use the Steam Ball for the good of the British Empire, but exactly how he plans to do it is questionable. Possibly based upon Robert Stephenson.

David (デイビッド, Deibiddo)^?, (Voiced by: Ikki Sawamura (Japanese), Robin Atkin Downes (English))

Young, talented engineer and Robert Stephenson's loyal right hand. His kindness does not betray a thirsty ambition.

Archibald Simon (アーチボルド・サイモン, Āchiborudo Saimon)^?, (Voiced by: Satoru Sato (Japanese), Rick Zieff (English))

The O'Hara Foundation's chairman's representative, he is overweight and wears glasses. Grossly obsessed with money, he continues to market his wares even when his life is in danger, with comical results.

Alfred Smith (アルフレッド・スミス, Arufureddo Sumisu)^?, (Voiced by: Susumu Terajima (Japanese), Mark Bramhall (English))

The smarter of the two O'Hara thugs, Alfred works with Jason in trying to steal the Steamball. He outlives his oafish companion, and seems to hate Ray even more. He, along with Jason, performs much of Simon's dirty work. The two of them capture Ray and bring him to London, and later attempt to kill him. Alfred does so by trying to smash him with a construction crane, but Ray deftly avoids it, causing it to slam into Alfred instead.

Jason (ジェイソン, Jeison)^?, (Voiced by: Tetsu Inada (Japanese), David S. Lee (English))

One of the men working in the O'Hara Foundation in the United States of America. Jason and Alfred were the ones that want to get the Steamball. However, Ray Steam is kidnapped. He represents the more brutish half of the two O'Hara thugs, and engages in a vicious aerial battle with Ray toward the end of the movie.

Ray's Mother (レイの母親, Rei no Hahaoya)^?, (Voiced by: Keiko Aizawa (Japanese))

Ray's mother.

Emma (エマ, Ema)^?, (Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi (Japanese))

Ray's female childhood friend.

Thomas (トーマス, Tōmasu)^?, (Voiced by: Aiko Hibi (Japanese)))

Emma's brother.

The Admiral, (Voiced by: Osamu Saka (Japanese), Oliver Muirhead (English))

Highly decorated and a Knight of the Order of the Garter, the Admiral is Robert Stephenson's main point of contact with the British Government. The Admiral is rather set in his ways, believing that men, not machines, fight wars. He displays British compusure, calmly taking afternoon tea on the deck of his flagship while a battle rages nearby.

[edit] Plot summary

The movie opens with scenes of Edward and Lloyd working to develop the Steam Ball. They obtain water of "exceptional purity" from a cave in Iceland and then transport it by means of a trans-arctic submarine to Russian Alaska. What is actually happening during this scene isn't explained until later in the movie. As the apparatus strains to perform its function, Edward demands that his father end the experiment. Recklessly, his father won't abort the experiment for fear of wasting the rare water they were using. The apparatus explodes, apparently killing Edward. The Steam Ball remains in the wreckage of the machine.

The brief title sequence rolls and the setting shifts to a textile mill in Manchester (1866). Ray is introduced in a sequence where he saves the mill's steam engine and the lives of its operators by heroically crawling into a service compartment below the boiler. Upon emerging, he and the engineer were blamed for the damage to the device by the mill's uncaring manager.

According to the English dub, he "pays himself" with a brass valve. On the way home he learns of the London Exhibition and is tormented by the other kids about his "crazy" father and grandfather. During the next scene, a major part of the movie's theme is revealed through a passage that is read by one of his mother's students whom she is tutoring (possibly a younger brother, it isn't clear). The passage is better understood in the subtitled version. It describes the motives of his grandfather and father (before the accident).

The plot resumes several scenes later with the arrival of a package, immediately followed by two men in black who introduce themselves as being from the O'Hara Foundation. They never actually say this but Ray's mother says they had come to claim the Steam Ball. Obeying his grandfather's instructions, he refuses and snatches it away from their grasp. Just then Lloyd (the aforementioned grandfather) shows up to help Ray defend the ball. He tells Ray that his father is dead and to flee the scene.

A struggle ensues and Ray makes it to his newly completed steam-monowheel. The chase is quickly joined by a huge "steam tractor" or "steam automotive" (depending on whether you are looking at the dub or subtitles). The huge contraption smashes the front of the house before continuing the chase.

Some miles later, the chase moves onto a railroad, immediately ahead of a train.

After some action, the O'Hara Foundation's "Plan B" is foiled. By coincidence, Mr. Stephenson, who was the intended recipient of the Steam Ball, was on his way to Manchester to meet with the elder Dr. Steam. They notice the man operating the Steam Tractor, setting off a flare but failed to realize he was signaling for the initiation of "Plan C."

While Ray and Dr. Stephenson discuss Edward and the ball, a zeppelin descends over the train and rips the roof off with a giant crane. Ray is kidnapped. During the struggle we get the first inkling of the power of the Steam Ball as a burst from it damages some nearby buildings.

Dr. Stephenson returns to Ray Steam's home and investigate his workshop. They don't learn much. They notice the apparatus in the shop is designed for extraordinarily high pressure and speculate that it was for a demonstration.

The next "Act" of the movie begins in London. The second most dynamic character in the movie (second to Edward), Scarlett arrives on a huge paddle steamer catamaran. The ship is far in advance of ships of the day and rivals the SS Great Eastern in size. She is carrying an odd looking dog which resembles a chihuahua named Columbus. Her character is revealed in how she mistreats the creature.

Ray finds himself in an ornate dining room with steel walls. He meets Scarlett and Archibald Simon (called by his last name for the remainder of the movie). He is shocked when, out of a swirl of steam, his father appears. His heavy footsteps suggest that his legs are mostly mechanical. He wears a mask over half his face and few strands of hair cling to his scarred scalp.

He takes Ray on a tour of the "Steam Castle" (or "Steam Tower"). Scarlett tags along. During this sequence there are some stunning visuals as Edward proclaims his vision for the Steam Tower. He claims that it will relieve man of his toils and bring about a new age of enlightenment.

There is a cut scene where Stephenson discusses issues with an Admiral of the Royal Navy. It is resolved that there will be a raid on the O'Hara pavilion and that they should be prepared for anything.

He recruits Ray to help him finish the project and announces that Ray would be its heir, to Scarlet's chagrin. While he is working, Scarlett comes to him and demands he fix Columbus's treadmill (or indoor walker) that his grandfather had built. This leads to them sneaking into the main pavilion at the exhibition to steal some parts. The scene primarily is a character development scene where the relationship between Ray and the still evil Scarlett begins to develop.

Lloyd, who had been captured and placed in a cell, escaped by improvising an explosive and set about to sabotage the Tower/castle. Several scenes later, Ray encounters Lloyd and there is another brilliant scene where they pass through the Castle's arsenal and Lloyd explains the folly of war. Ray also struggles with the question of what exactly has become of his father and which side (Lloyd's or Edward's) is correct. This is the major conflict of the movie.

Being enlightened to the importance of the social aspects of technology, Ray challenges Stephenson, when he meets him on the deck of the battleship, "What is the purpose of Science, Technology, all of it?" Stephenson answers "Science exists to make people happy." Ray was satisfied with this answer and hands over the ball. To his horror, the Admiral immediately orders the first wave of attack against the Steam Tower.

The first line of defense is a class of "steam troopers" who are assisted by powered exoskeletons. Simon begins his sales spiel to his potential customers, which include representatives from France, the German Empire and the Middle East (presumably the Ottoman Empire).

Meanwhile, the battleship travels to Stephenson's workshop to deliver the Steam Ball. Stephenson installs the ball into his own device which, presumably, will be used to charge the pressure cylinders of his own tanks. Regardless of the actual function of that machine, its dramatic role is to highlight the similarity between Stephenson and the O'Hara foundation, that they're exactly the same, just not as prosperous.

With this in place, the second attack is launched against the O'Hara "Pavilion." The foundation releases its own tanks and battle is joined, the two sides reaching something of a stalemate. Scarlett, who is trying to figure out why Ray was being attacked, notices that there's fighting going on around the pavilion. Simon explains "It's just a little war with Great Britain, coupled with a product demonstration", to which Scarlet replies "Don't lose."

Scarlett, not understanding the gravity of the situation, goes out to meet the Queen. She steps right into the middle of the conflict. She is shaken to her senses as a shell rips past her, nearly knocking her down. Then, in one flash as a shell hits the main pavilion, shattering the glass, she comes to her senses and reaches a moment of epiphany and, in that instant, is transformed from villainess to heroine, remarking (according to English subtitles in the Japanese version), "That's horrible..." She goes back into the castle in attempt to find Simon and to get control of the situation.

The battle intensifies and Simon unleashes his "Aero Corps." They use powered gliders. They are fairly effective but lack control and several pilots died, one crashing into the exposition, one of his bombs exploding, another crashing into Stephensons workshop a little later. When David goes out to watch this new spectacle, Ray seizes the opportunity to retrieve his Steam Ball.

The laboratory comes under attack from the Aero corps and is mostly destroyed, the attacking glider crashed nearby, injuring David who cares more about the ball than himself. Ray recovers the wreckage of the glider and builds a rocket from it, David makes a last-ditch effort to procure the ball, hitting it with his cane. This causes steam to spout out from it, hitting David in the face, further injuring him. Despite this damage Ray decides to fly it anyway.

The battle at the pavilion continues as Simon unleashes the "Aqua Corps". These are even less effective than the aero corps, due to their (even comical) inability to climb stairs.

The admiral has had enough, he orders a bombardment of the pavilion. The outer shell of the building crumbles revealing the castle's true form.

Edward retorts his father's line to him and orders the building to launch... Scarlet finds him in the control room and is confused because Edward has placed his mechanical arm within a control panel.

The castle itself is revealed as a colossal steam-powered rocket. It takes to the sky and begins its pre-programmed journey down the Thames. The jets of the rocket are freezing cold and freeze the Thames solid, neutralizing the battleships and the Aqua Corps.

The navy continues to bombard it. Ray becomes worried that the thing could explode. Ray takes to the air with his rocket and engages in a battle with an O'Hara airplane. Stephenson musters a few dozen railroad engines and attempts to use chains to pull Steam Tower Down. This is somewhat successful, as the remaining steam balls are weakened and the Tower crashes into Central London

Simon, his customers, and the crew of the tower, escape in one of the tower's zeppelins, but only after fighting off numerous workers desperate to escape as well.

Lloyd confronts Edward and tells him that his dream is over. Edward retorts that he succeeded the moment the tower took off. Ray manages to reach the control room only in time to see Lloyd try to shoot Edward. Edward escapes into the tower's depths. Lloyd is ready to die with his son when the tower explodes, as he believes, over the Thames. When he learned that wasn't the case, they set about a desperate plan to repair the tower with the third Steam Ball.

Strangely, one of the O'Hara goons attempts to kill Ray with one of the old construction cranes. When the ball is installed, Eddy appears in the auxiliary control room to help Lloyd work the machinery.

With all this catastrophe unfolding around them, Lloyd's vision for the tower is revealed. The tower's amusement park ferris wheel and carousel horses appear from the mechanism. The tower transforms into a walker and extends feet so huge that they crush several buildings.

It staggers back to the Thames and collapses into the river. As it begins to break apart, Ray makes it back to the main control room so that he can rescue Scarlett and escape. He takes Edward's rocket suit. The final scene in the movie is a scene of the tower's destruction and the hero and heroine's escape, and the start of the 'Age of Science' in Ray's words.

The ending montage (shown during the closing credits) reveals the aftermath of the London events and the passage of time, along with the fact that both Eddy and Lloyd had survived the tower's crash. During the ensuing years, it is revealed that Lloyd invents the light bulb before his death, and that Eddy may have become an arms manufacturer of sorts, and a melancholy Scarlet returns to America. What is implied to be the Great War happens shortly thereafter, with evidently British rocketmen/paratroopers against enemy zeppelins. In the end, Scarlet becomes the first female aviator (an analog of the real-world Amelia Earheart). Of Ray's ultimate fate, there is no indicator.

[edit] Anachronisms

Like most steampunk works, Steamboy is anachronistic and goes on the assumption that in this alternate world, technology advanced at a faster rate than in reality.

• Submarines had been invented and had some limited success, but the first trans-Arctic voyage would not come until the invention of the nuclear submarine.
• The first self-powered aircraft, although powered by a steam engine, was not invented until 1886, by Clément Ader.
• Tanks were not invented until the First World War, although the concept of armoured steam-powered fighting machines had been advanced during the Crimean War.
• Zeppelins were not invented until 1897. It is unlikely that the name "zeppelin" would have been used, as Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin was eighteen years old in 1866.
• Prosthetics are, even today, far less articulate than that displayed by Dr Edward Steam.
• The Royal Navy vessels in the film are steel battleships that did not emerge until the 1880s.
• The Great Exhibition happened in 1851.
• Robert Stephenson died in 1859; the film is set in 1866.
• Although it is featured in the film, Tower Bridge was not completed until 1894.
• The train featured in the chase carries the letters "LMS". This refers to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, which was not formed until 1923, and which absorbed the Midland Railway seen earlier in the film. The line from Manchester would have run into St. Pancras station, not Victoria
• An external shot of Scarlett with various flags from the Exhibition waving in the background shows the modern-day Canadian flag, which was introduced in 1965, Canada itself was only recognized as a nation on 1 July 1867. Also in this shot and a number of shots later on (like the Queen's entrance to Crystal Palace) the current flags of the Australian states New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria which are based on the defaced British Blue Ensign can also be seen. These flags were not adopted until 1876, 1904 and 1877 respectively.

[edit] Staff

• Original creator, script and director: Katsuhiro Otomo
• Screenplay: Sadayuki Murai
• Chief animation supervisor: Tatsuya Tomaru
• Effect animation supervisor: Takashi Hashimoto
• Art director: Shinji Kimura
• CGI director: Hiroaki Ando
• Animation director: Shinji Takagi
• Technical director: Shinichi Matsumi
• Digital composite: Mitsuhiro Satō
• Editing: Takeshi Seyama
• Music: Steve Jablonsky
• Sound director: Keichi Momose
• Production: Sunrise

[edit] Media

The Japanese release of Steamboy featured the voices of Anne Suzuki, Manami Konishi and Masane Tsukayama. The United States release, held in a limited number of U.S. theaters on March 18, 2005, and expanded to additional theaters on March 25, was released in two formats: a subtitled release featured in fewer cinemas, and an English dubbed version cut down by 15 minutes that featured the voices of Anna Paquin, Alfred Molina, and Patrick Stewart.

Steamboy was distributed across Japan by Toho and English regions by Sony's Triumph Films subsidiary. The DVD was released in Japan on April 15, 2005, in Australia on June 22, 2005, the USA on July 26, 2005, and the UK on March 27, 2006. Both the edited English version and the original Japanese version were made available on DVD, with the longer version being sold as the Director's Cut.

[edit] Video game

• Steamboy was later adapted into a video game for the Playstation 2 format in Japan.

[edit] TV

• Steamboy a TV movie coming June 2007 on TNT.

[edit] References in pop culture

• The movie Stay Alive featured a huge wall sized poster of Steamboy.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Steamboy official site
• Steamboy at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Steamboy at the Internet Movie Database
• Steamboy at Rotten Tomatoes
• Steamboy at Box Office Mojo